Card of the Day: The Throne at Windsor Castle

Thrones, thrones, thrones. Lots of thrones. Lots of thrones, all in different places—all very similar looking. We continue our look at the 1935 Churchman Cigarette Card Jubilee Series with this image which is labeled “The Throne Chair Windsor Castle.” Well, that doesn’t tell me much. There are several thrones at Windsor Castle. This seems to be the only blue one. I can tell by the cipher that it was made for Edward III. So, that helps.


Let’s look at it. Yes, indeed, this chair was made for King Edward III in 1350 and is, technically, the Order of the Garter Throne. As best I can tell, it’s not in use, but it does remain at Windsor Castle. Edward III was born at Windsor Castle and spent a lot of time and money in expanding and redoing the place. This was part of his efforts. He was also the King who established the Order of the Garter. So, this throne was used in the Garter Throne Room which we see pictured below. Queen Elizabeth II uses a different throne in there today. The only photograph I can find of this chair comes from a photographer who has his work heavily copyrighted. I don’t want to irritate him by using his image without permission, so I’ll link to it in case you’re interested.

The Garter Throne Room as it is today.
Images from the Royal Collection.